Safe
by InternetGirl123
Summary: We know Skipper will do anything for his team, but sometimes he makes mistakes. Songfic.


**Not too confident in this story. This is my first song fic that I'm publishing, so please tell me how I did!**

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><p>Missions went wrong all the time. More often then not, actually. That was the case in this mission, trying to stop the robber who was stealing from the bank. He was apparently very serious, because he had a gun and was not unwilling to shoot at the first guy who tried to stop him. Who, unfortunately, was Private.<p>

The penguins had burst into the bank, as the robber was about to make his escape. The penguins used a new maneuver they had been working on, which involved Private being flung at the enemy with a flamethrower. It was an attempt to scare the robber enough to stop what he was doing and cower in sight of the weapon. Unfortunately for the penguins, this robber was too clever for that, especially when the wielder of the device was a cute and cuddly penguin.

The robber wasn't scared of Private; he just didn't want any interruptions. He pulled the trigger on his weapon to get the little guy out and over with. The bullet hit the flamethrower, thank goodness, and not the small penguin, however the force of the hit was enough to send young Private hurdling to the ground, an act that enraged Skipper to no end.

"Kowalski! Rico!" he barked, as he rushed to Private. "Take care of him, preferably with some high quality dynamite!"

Rico hacked up the requested item and cackled manically as he and Kowalski headed for the very naughty man.

Skipper helped Private up. While he hadn't been hit, the impact of the fall had caused him some pain. Skipper was furious, partly because Private was hurt and partly because the robber was just plain evil. Private insisted on getting back up and helping out, but Skipper wouldn't have it. Besides, Rico had already taken care of him. All that was left was for the slow poke police to show up. The penguins left the unconscious man to his consequences and headed back home.

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><p>When the four penguins arrived back at Central Park Zoo, Kowalski and Rico headed down to get some shut eye, with Skipper close behind.<p>

"I think I may stay up here a bit, Skipper." Private said, settling down with the radio under the dark New York sky.

Skipper was reluctant to let him stay up, but decided to let it go. He descended the ladder and made himself a mug of fish coffee. Kowalski and Rico were already asleep.

Skipper couldn't help but think what happened was his fault. While Private wasn't seriously hurt, he was going to have some bruises in the morning. Skipper could've stopped it; he should've known the guy would have a gun! And it was such a stupid maneuver! How could he have just thrown Private into that? He could've kept the boy safe, but...

_Hard to find a way to get through, it's a tragedy._

The melodic sound of the radio up top surprised Skipper, and the words that came with it made him feel worse.

_Pulling at me like the stars do, it's like gravity_

'What's like gravity was Private plummeting to the ground,' Skipper thought. He climbed up to the ladder and peeked out of the fishbowl. Private was leaning against the radio, calmly looking at the sky, a slight smile across his face.

_Even if the wind blows, it makes it hard to believe_

It was a bit coincidental that a slight wind was blowing by at that point, but Skipper just watched the young penguin and listened to the lyrics.

_How you gonna love? How you gonna feel? How you gonna live your life like the dream you have is real?_

_And if you lost your way, I will keep you safe, we'll open up all the world inside, I see it come alive tonight. I will keep you safe._

Was the song trying to eat away at Skipper until he could take the guilt no longer? He couldn't keep Private safe, and it was as if the song was trying to make sure he knew it.

_Doesn't even matter to you, to see what I can see._

_I'm crawling on the floor to reach you, I'm a wreck you see._

_When you're far from home now, it makes it hard to believe._

_So how you gonna love? How you gonna feel? How you gonna live you're life like the dream you have is real?_

_If you lost you're way, I will keep you safe, open up the world inside, I see it come alive tonight. I will keep you safe._

Skipper couldn't take it anymore. He jumped out of the hatch and ran to his comrade.

_We all fall down. We all feel down. 'Cause rainy days and summer highs, the more we pray, the more we feel alive._

"Private?"

Private looked up at his leader. "Yes, Skipper?"

"I'm sorry," Skipper said. "I was supposed to keep you safe, but I couldn't."

"Isn't our job to save others?" Private asked.

"Well, yes. But it's also our job to keep each other safe. And I failed that today."

"No you didn't, Skipper! How were you supposed to know he had a gun?"

"He was robbing a bank! Any idiot would figure he had a gun."

Private stood up. "We were just doing our job, Skipper. You could never fail me."

The younger penguin hugged his leader, and Skipper returned it, surprising both himself and Private.

_I will keep you safe._

The two penguins climbed down the ladder, ending the day that a little something changed for the better.

_I will keep you safe._

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><p><strong>OK, Skipper's a little OOC, I'm sorry. I saw Dolphin Tale this weekend and this was the end credit song. About a minute in, I realized it was the perfect SkipperPrivate song. It's called "Safe" by Westlife and it's the best song ever! I do not own it! Anyway, please tell me what you thought of it in the reviews! Thanks for reading!**


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